The OHL Group takes part in the 2nd edition of the Civil Engineering Week in Madrid
March 11, 2013
Between the 11th and 17th of March, the Madrid Branch of the Civil Engineers’ Association organized the 2nd edition of the Civil Engineering Week, a conference which was attended by the OHL Group in its capacity as a co-sponsor.
The opening ceremony, which took place in the auditorium of the Prado Museum, was presided over by the President of the Civil Engineers’ Association of Madrid, Miguel Ángel Carrillo, and was attended by Juan-Miguel Villar Mir, President of the OHL Group; Manuel Niño, General Secretary of Infrastructures of the Ministry of Development; Pablo Cavero, the Minister of Transport, Infrastructures and Housing for the Community of Madrid; and Paz González, representative of the Government Department of Urban Development and Housing of Madrid City Council, among others.
Juan-Miguel Villar Mir, a member of the honorary board of Madrid’s Civil Engineering Week – a board which is chaired by H.R.H. the Prince of Asturias – took part in the opening ceremony, representing all of the presidents of the Civil Engineers’ Association. During his speech he discussed the role played by engineers as generators of progress and well-being and emphasized that “through the creation of infrastructures of every kind, civil engineers generate revenue, wealth and employment and we contribute towards the development and advancement of humanity as a whole”. Along the same lines, he stated that “as engineers, we must always perform our work in a spirit of continuous improvement and constant commitment to technological innovation in each and every one of our projects”.
In addition to the President of OHL, the Group was also represented at the 2nd edition of the Civil Engineering Week by the President-Director General of OHL Construcción, Francisco Marín Andrés, who took part in the round table discussion on the construction industry and Manuel Villén Naranjo, Director of Innovation and Sustainability who was involved in the panel R+D in building projects and Engineering and Corporate Social Responsibility in Engineering and Construction Companies.
Over the course of a week the public was able to learn first-hand about the usefulness of civil engineering works and infrastructures thanks to a comprehensive program of activities which included free guided tours of highly important structures such as the Torre Espacio, the headquarters of OHL, and the Traffic Authority control center and the High Speed Rail control center at Atocha train station; in addition to an exhibition entitled Madrid Progressing with Civil Engineers, which took place in the Arquerías de Nuevos Ministerios Exhibition Hall.
For this second edition, the Civil Engineers’ Association’s organizing committee had the support of over 80 institutions, ranging from public administrations, associations, industry organizations and universities, in addition to companies from the sector, including OHL.